Tired of the same sweet breakfast routine? Swapping in savoury grains with your multigrain flour can transform your morning meal, offering sustained energy and a host of nutrients. It's a simple, delicious way to diversify your diet and start your day
right.
Why Go Savoury with Your Grains?
Many traditional Indian breakfasts are savoury, and for good reason. Unlike sugary cereals or sweet pastries that can cause a rapid spike and subsequent crash in blood sugar, savoury breakfasts built on complex carbohydrates provide a slow, steady release of energy. Incorporating whole grains like millets or oats into your multigrain flour preparations for dosas, cheelas, or upma adds a significant boost of dietary fibre, protein, and essential minerals. This combination helps promote better digestion, keeps you feeling full and satisfied for longer, and can aid in weight management and blood sugar control. By shifting to a savoury start, you not only align with a rich culinary tradition but also make a conscious choice for your long-term health and well-being.
The Mighty Millets: Jowar, Bajra and Ragi
Millets are ancient grains that are making a powerful comeback in modern Indian kitchens. Jowar (sorghum) is a fantastic gluten-free option, rich in protein and fibre. Its mild, earthy flavour makes it a versatile addition to multigrain batters. Bajra (pearl millet) is another nutritional powerhouse, known for its high iron and magnesium content. It has a slightly nutty taste and provides a feeling of warmth, making it ideal for cooler months. Ragi (finger millet) stands out for its exceptional calcium content, crucial for bone health. It also brings a unique, deep flavour to any dish. When adding these to your multigrain flour, start with a smaller ratio, perhaps one part millet flour to three parts of your regular flour mix, and adjust to your taste. They pair beautifully with spices like cumin and coriander, and vegetables like onions and tomatoes.
Beyond Millets: Oats and Buckwheat
Oats are not just for sweet porridge. Rolled oats can be pulsed into a coarse flour and added to cheela or dosa batters for a soft, fluffy texture and a dose of heart-healthy beta-glucan fibre. Savoury oats upma, cooked with mustard seeds, curry leaves, and vegetables, is a quick and filling breakfast. Buckwheat, known as 'kuttu' in India, is another excellent choice. Despite its name, it is not a type of wheat but a gluten-free seed that is a complete protein, containing all nine essential amino acids. Roasted buckwheat groats have a robust, nutty flavour that works well in savoury porridges topped with a fried egg and sautéed mushrooms, or you can use buckwheat flour in pancakes and crepes.
Crafting the Perfect Savoury Breakfast
The key to delicious savoury grain breakfasts is balance. When creating a multigrain batter for dosas or cheelas, you can either mix various flours or soak and grind whole grains. A common method involves soaking grains like millets and lentils overnight, then grinding them with ginger and green chillies to form a batter. This batter can often be used instantly without fermentation. To enhance the flavour and nutritional value, consider adding finely chopped vegetables like onions, carrots, bell peppers, and spinach directly into the batter. A tempering of mustard seeds, cumin seeds, and curry leaves in a little oil or ghee can be poured over the batter or used as a base for an upma, elevating the dish from simple to spectacular. Don't be afraid to experiment with different combinations of grains and spices to find what your family loves most.
